How It Came to Be
by Shadow Avenger
Summary: The Origin of the Teen Titans is explained here. Tells of how Robin met with all the others and why he left Batman. CHAPTER NINE IS UP! CYBORG HAS ARRIVED! Ain't it exciting? Don't say 'no' either.
1. Default Chapter

OK, I should warn you right now that the Titans won't enter into this right away. It'll take time and don't worry, I will finish this story. Anyway, everyone argues about which Robin it is. Is it Dick or Tim? In this story, it's Tim.   
  
Why, some people argue that Static Shock episode where he asks where Robin is and Batman says he's with the Titans. But then in a later episode we see him back with Batman (That was the new season opener, where he goes into the future). I'm just gonna have that story take place before the one I mentioned earlier. If this makes no sense to you…please email me and I will try to ease your confusion to the best of my abilities. Now, on with the fic.  
  
Chapter One: The Decision   
  
The sun's rays had finally found their way into the high office of Bruce Wayne.   
  
Wayne sat back in his chair, thinking of what had just happened in the past 72 hours. He and Robin had apprehended some villains with some help (Though completely unnecessary, thought Bruce) from Static. The trio of Superheroes had returned to the cave. Everything was normal until Static had gotten himself thrown through a temporal vortex.  
  
Thank god Gear was able to bring him back, thought the billionaire.   
  
Virgil was about to tell him about the future when Wayne's alter-ego had instructed him not to.   
  
But now after sleeping on it, Wayne couldn't help but wonder what the future was like? Was he still alive? Obviously since Virgil had told him that he was old. But what about the city, Barbara, Dick and Tim? Were they still fighting the good fight or had they fallen victim of the criminals they had sworn to stop?  
  
Bruce pounded his desk.  
  
You can't know. If you try to alter the timeline, you could erase yourself from history and make it even worse.  
  
But if he did know, he knew he could stop a lot of devastating events from occurring. What if something worse than 9/11 happened? What if Tim was shot to death while at school? What if Barbara…?  
  
A sigh escaped the mouth of Bruce Wayne. It was just too much for his mind to handle. He was might be damned if he did know or damned if he didn't know.  
  
Looking at his watch which was firmly located on his left wrist, he saw that is was too early for school to be out. Gotham City and Dakota were in the same time zone.   
  
But would Virgil tell him?  
  
He worships you, to an extent. He'll tell you all you need to know.  
  
In the meantime, Wayne had to wait two and a half hours before he could call Virgil Hawkins. And knowing teenagers-having raised one and currently raising another-they didn't stay home long unless something important had to be done.  
  
Picking up his phone, Bruce punched in three numbers.  
  
"For what area?" asked a recorded female voice.  
  
"Dakota," answered Bruce in that cold voice that almost the whole world knew him by. Though he often made it sound friendly, it put intimidation into a lot of his competition.  
  
A few seconds later the female voice returned. "For what name?"  
  
"Virgil Hawkins."  
  
There was another pause which was followed by an exaggerated, "Thank you," making it sound like name had made this recorded voice's day.  
  
An operator now came on the line and said, "Ok, we have only one match to your request: Virgil Hawkins. Is that the one you're looking for." The voice sounded like it very dedicated to giving the right information in the fastest way possible.  
  
Bruce now used his calm gentle voice and said, "Yes thank you."  
  
A few seconds passed again and then Bruce could hear the familiar dial tone one heard after dialing a phone number. Two segments of the tone passed before it was picked up and acknowledged with a deep but friendly, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello," greeted Bruce back still with his friendly voice. "May I speak with Virgil Hawkins, please?"  
  
"I'm sorry," apologized the voice on the other end, which Bruce guessed to be Mr. Hawkins, "but Virgil's at school right now. If you leave your name and number, I'll make sure he calls you as soon as he gets back from school."  
  
"All right," agreed Bruce. "If you could have him call Bruce Wayne—"  
  
"Wait a minute," said Mr. Hawkins. "Bruce Wayne the billionaire?"  
  
"That's me."  
  
Mr. Hawkins voice now turned from kind to stern. "I don't know who you are," he began, "but if you so try to trick me like that…I'll beat your ass."  
  
Bruce now had little time to convince Mr. Hawkins that he was who he was.   
  
"Mr. Hawkins, you don't understand. I am Bruce Wayne. I would like to meet with your son Virgil for a little while so that I can—"  
  
"Wait," said Mr. Hawkins. He now sounded a bit stunned by this. "I've heard someone say the exact same thing. His name was Michael Jackson."  
  
"Mr. Hawkins," said Bruce quickly. "If you could grab a pen and paper, please copy down this phone number. It'll connect you to my secretary. Just tell her your name and she'll connect you to me."  
  
There was a pause on the other end. Finally after what seemed to be almost a minute Mr. Hawkins said on the other line, "All right."  
  
Bruce gave the number and said his goodbyes. As soon as he replaced the phone, he pressed a button on his intercom which connected him with his secretary, Caroline.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Wayne?" replied her mechanical voice over the intercom.  
  
"Caroline, if a Mr. Hawkins should call, please put him through to me."  
  
"Certainly, sir."  
  
Wayne switched off the intercom and patiently waited.  
  
Forty-one seconds after he had last spoken with Caroline, Wayne's phone began to ring.   
  
Just as he was about to pick it up, he stopped.   
  
Let's leave him thinking for just a second…  
  
Finally on the third ring he picked up the receiver rather quickly.  
  
"Mr. Hawkins?" he said in his friendly voice.  
  
"I'm so sorry," gasped Robert Hawkins on the other end. "I thought you might be some sort of…"  
  
"It's all right," said Bruce. "I'm raising a teenager myself. You have to be very careful with the people they hang around with."  
  
Robert laughed. "That's true. And Dakota's equally dangerous with all these Bang-Babies around. But anyway, you want to talk with Virgil?"  
  
"That's right," replied Bruce. Before Robert could ask why, Bruce had already come up with a good enough lie which would fool any parent. "You see, Virgil wrote me a letter some months ago, asking me about my entrepreneurial skills. I only got it now because I get lots of letters and it's so hard to sort it all."  
  
Robert sighed. "I'd say I understood what it's like but unfortunately, I can't."  
  
Wayne gave a sincere laugh. "Anyway, I'd just like to talk with Virgil and give him an answer to his question. Judging by the letter he wrote me, he sounds like an intelligent young man."  
  
"I wouldn't tell his sister that," argued Robert. "She says that the only smart thing about Virgil is his mouth."  
  
I should tell Tim that, thought Bruce. "We'll see about that," said Bruce with a chuckle. "Anyway, will you tell Virgil for me?"  
  
"Of course, of course," said Robert. "He's gonna love this. Thank you, Mr. Wayne."  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Goodbye."  
  
Bruce waited for the other line to go dead before he replaced the receiver. The message had been delivered. There was no going back on his task now. He would ask Virgil what he saw in the future, and then would try to change anything that would be damaging to his family.  
  
"May God have mercy on my soul," he whispered to himself.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
OK, I know there weren't any Titans in this chapter and there won't be for quite a while. This story is about their origin and formation if I were to write about it.   
  
Next Chapter: Virgil makes a phone call and answers some questions. 


	2. Interrogation Via Telephone

Ok, I know I didn't do this in the previous chapter but now I feel obligated to do it now. I don't own Teen Titans, Batman, Static or Gear. If I did, I don't think I'd be writing this…well maybe if I was really bored or something.  
  
Don't forget to R and R.  
  
Chapter Two: Interrogation via Telephone  
  
Virgil Hawkins walked through the door of his house contemplating whether or not he would spend most of the upcoming Saturday patrolling the city since Gear would be taking an out-of-town-trip to go visit a sick relative.  
  
I did it before without Richie, he thought calmly. Yes, this was something he could handle all by his lonesome.   
  
Before he could even shut the door, Virgil heard his father call his name and without waiting for a response, charge right towards the front door of their house.  
  
"Son," exhaled Robert. "You aren't going to believe me when I say this…but you got a phone call from Bruce Wayne!"  
  
Virgil could feel his stomach drop. But for some reason he didn't know if that was good or not.  
  
"Bat—" he began but quickly cut himself off after revealing half of the billionaire's alter ego.  
  
"What was that, son?" Robert asked with a raise eyebrow.  
  
Now was the time Virgil hated the most about being a superhero: He had to lie to his father. It wasn't a task he enjoyed but to keep his and his father's life as 'normal' as possible. It was the only choice.  
  
"Bah," said Virgil as he waved his hand at his father like he thought Robert had made a joke. "Why would Bruce Wayne call me?"  
  
"About that letter you wrote him," proclaimed Robert proudly. "He seemed very impressed by it. You do know which letter I am talking about, right?"  
  
"Of course," Virgil quickly lied. "Its-uh-been so long since I wrote it and all. You know, you just forget about it."  
  
"Well," said his father as he retreated back into the kitchen, "I put his number next to your phone."  
  
"Thanks, Pop," said Virgil as he quickly used his feet to pull off his shoes. As soon as they were off he dashed up the stairs while being quiet enough to hear his father tell him that he could use all the time he needed.  
  
As soon as Virgil was in his room he shut the door and braced the door with as many heavy objects he could find. Hopefully his father and sister would respect his privacy and not come barging in while referring to one of the richest men in the world as Batman.  
  
As his trembling hand approached the phone, Virgil considered whether he should tell Richie or not. He was his best friend and since he had worked with Batman before, it seemed only fair.   
  
Picking up the receiver and pushing the first speed-dial button, Virgil put the receiver to his ear and listened to the dial tone. Before the second tone could go off, he heard a familiar, "Hello?"  
  
"Rich?" asked Virgil frantically, "its Virgil."  
  
"What's up?" asked the teen genius.   
  
Virgil thought to himself why his friend did not take into account to urgency of his voice. Was Richie so smart that he could even tell when Bang-Babies were attacking just by the sound of people's voice?  
  
"Virg, are you there?"  
  
"Yea-sorry. Listen…did you get a call from Bruce Wayne?"  
  
There was silence at the other end. Then, "Wait a minute you mean…well I can't say it here since this is an open line."  
  
"Yea," agreed Virgil. "No need to put that phone scrambler on. Just let me know…did you get a call from him?"  
  
"No. Why, did he call you?"  
  
"Yea," sighed Virgil in an almost defeated manner.   
  
"Well," said Richie in an equally defeated-sounding manner, "you know what this means?"  
  
"No…what?" asked Virgil with a puzzled voice.  
  
There was another pause on the other line which was quickly followed by a sing-song version of, "You got in trou-ble, you got in trou-ble, you got in trou-ble." This was followed by juvenile laughing.  
  
Virgil gave a furious sigh but couldn't help but allow a small smile to form at the bottom of his lips.  
  
"I'll see you later," said Virgil.  
  
"Yea…if you're still alive!"  
  
Virgil hit the hang-up button and then hit it again so that he would have an open channel to call Bruce Wayne.  
  
After dialing the nine digit number his father had written down, he was quickly greeted verbally with a female voice saying, "Bruce Wayne's office."  
  
This made Virgil even more nervous than before. Would Wayne's secretary put his call through? Of course, she would have to. After all Bruce had probably told her that he was gonna call. But then again…his name always made him sound a lot older than what he really was. Damn and his voice still didn't sound completely like an adult's.  
  
"Uh-Virgil Hawkins. I'm returning a call…"  
  
"One moment please," replied the voice. There was silence (AN: Isn't there always) at the other end. Then Virgil heard the other end pick up and a cold familiar voice said, "Hello, Virgil. Thanks for returning my call."  
  
"Um, no problem," replied the teen superhero. "What's up?"  
  
"I need to ask you a few questions," replied Wayne. The voice held no indication as to what the questions were about. All Virgil knew was that the voice on the other end of the line wanted answers. And he wanted them badly.  
  
"A-abo-about what?" asked Virgil while trying to sound as calm as he could.  
  
"The future," replied Wayne with his stone-cold voice.  
  
Virgil knew that this might happen. To know what would happen tomorrow would mean a great deal to a man who actually cared about it. Wayne had made promise not to tell anyone what the future looked like. But something in the back of his mind told him that he would have to do this one day.  
  
"This is about what happened a few days ago," concluded Virgil. "What do you wanna know?"  
  
"As much as you can tell me," replied Wayne. "First off…does Batman still exist?"  
  
"Yea," replied Virgil instantly. "I helped him save me…or rather my future self."  
  
"Was it Dick?"  
  
Virgil stopped. "Sorry?"  
  
"Was it Dick?"  
  
"Who's Dick?"  
  
"Nightwing," snapped Wayne on the other end. "God, didn't you know that?"  
  
"No. Anyway, I didn't hear anything about him."  
  
Virgil heard Bruce sigh.  
  
"All right? What about Batgirl. What's Barbara doing?"  
  
Virgil smiled. "She's taking after her dad. Commissioner of the police."  
  
"And how's Robin doing?"  
  
Virgil wished that Bruce didn't ask him that. He had wanted to tell his fellow teenaged friend what his future held but there was that damn temporal directive which could screw up the future if he told anyone. But to hell with protocol. Batman was asking the questions now and Virgil knew that if he didn't tell him, he would wake up in the batcave with some truth-telling serum flowing throughout his body.  
  
"He…he's a civilian. He quit."  
  
For a second Virgil thought he had heard the receiver on the other end drop to the floor. Had he been in Bruce's position he would have probably felt the same way. He knew Robin-not that well but still knew-and had heard the Boy Wonder say that he would stay in the crime fighting business until he died. Also, Robin had told Virgil that as soon as Bruce retired, he would most likely assume the role of Nightwing since the current holder of that name would become the new Batman.   
  
"Are you sure you heard that correctly?" Bruce finally asked.  
  
"Yea…" replied Virgil with a voice that indicated that this was a burden for him to do. "The guy who was Batman in the future…sounded…well-a bit sad when he told me that."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Virgil shrugged. "Well it was either that or great disappointment. Anything else you need to know?"  
  
The sound of Bruce clearing his throat was first heard, followed by, "No that is all. Thank you, Virgil. You've been most helpful."  
  
"Yea," replied Virgil in an uneasy voice.   
  
On the other end, Bruce Wayne hung up first before he could allow the other party to do so. He sighed and rested his elbows on his desk, then his head upon his hands.  
  
Was what Virgil said true? It had to be. He would never lie to him and for what purpose would he have to. He held no personal grudge against Tim. In fact the first time they met, Virgil was in awe of his sidekick.   
  
But was something going to happen to Tim that would turn him away from the superhero business forever? Did he fall in love with a girl who would fall victim to a stray bullet which Tim tried to take. Or was it something that he, Bruce, would do. Would he pressure the boy so much that eventually Tim would just turn away and never look back?  
  
It had to be prevented. To hell with the timeline. To hell with it all. Tim was the closest thing he had to a son ever since Dick moved out. He had to protect him.  
  
Picking up the phone for the forth time that day, Bruce Wayne hit the first speed-dial button.   
  
"Wayne Manor."  
  
"Alfred? Is Tim home?"  
  
"Yes, Sir," replied the faithful butler.   
  
"Keep him there," said Bruce firmly. "I should be back in about thirty minutes."  
  
Bruce Wayne didn't wait for a reply because he knew that his old friend would do as he said like he always did over the years. Placing the receiver back down, he jumped out of his chair and immediately made his way out of his office and towards the elevator-while telling Caroline that he was going home early today-and make his way down the sixty floors down to the ground level.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Yea, I know what you're thinking: Where's Robin? Where are the others? Why is Static here? Yadda yadda yadda.  
  
First, Robin is in the next chapter.  
  
Second: The others are coming. Give me time.  
  
Third: We will not be seeing Static again. I got a review which said I should have put this in the Static Shock category. Don't worry, that was just a cameo.  
  
Next Chapter: Bruce has a talk with Tim about what must be done. 


	3. What Must Be Done

Well, I would like to thank the one person who bothered to review. I hope the rest of you just forgot because you were so busy with schoolwork and all. Anyway, please R and R. If not for me…then for yourselves.  
  
Now on with the fic.  
  
Chapter Three: What must be Done  
  
Bruce Wayne normally would have had Alfred pick him up at the office but in such a case where he wished to drive home himself, he always had a BMW located in the staff parking lot.  
  
As soon as he entered the vehicle, he dispensed with the boy billionaire attitude and became his alter ego behind the wheel. All that was missing was the costume.   
  
As the foreign car screeched out of the parking lot it left eight feet of rubber.  
  
Alfred Pennyworth seemed a bit concerned about his older master. Normally he would be asking him if now was a convenient time for him to go pick him up…but instead he drives home himself.   
  
Pay it no mind, thought the butler, If you need to know then he will tell you.  
  
From his position in the kitchen, Alfred could hear footsteps approaching his way. He turned around and saw Tim Drake enter the room.  
  
"Hey, Alf," greeted the teenager as he opened the refrigerator. He wore a red t-shirt which was accompanied by a pair of baggy blue-jeans.   
  
Alfred watched the teen carefully. Was something the matter with Tim?   
  
The sound of the fridge door closing brought Alfred out of his daydreams.  
  
"Something wrong?" asked Tim as he let an apple roll down his arm and fly off his bent wrist. He caught the fruit before its collision with the clean marble floor could be accomplished.  
  
"Uh-no, Master Tim. However, Master Bruce is on his way home."  
  
Tim sighed. "He's probably got a lead on the Scarecrow. I better suit up." He turned his back to the butler and made his way out of the kitchen.  
  
"Actually, young sir," corrected Alfred, "he wishes for you to stay here."  
  
Had Tim stopped any more abruptly he would have slipped on his cotton socks. He stared at Alfred with a confused look. "Well…maybe he wants me to get to the cave."  
  
Alfred shook his head. "If that were the case he would have told me so. His exact instructions were to keep you here." His voice now lowered as though he was trying to tell Tim a secret even though the manor was completely empty. "If you are in any trouble, Master Tim, please tell me and I will do my best to help."  
  
The teen sighed. "Alfred, I'm not in trouble at all. If one of my teachers called Bruce…it's probably to tell them that I'm doing much better than I was last semester."  
  
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "I've heard that same rumor as well. Tell me, what's your favorite subject?"  
  
"Mythology," replied Tim without hesitation. "All that ancient Greek stuff beats the hell out of every other subject. And as for math…it can piss off." He then gave a chuckle.  
  
Putting a hand on Tim's shoulder, Alfred said, "Very well, Tim. However just to keep on his good side in case you're on the bad one, I suggest you go wait in your room."  
  
Bruce Wayne knew the traffic in Gotham was bad but he didn't know to what extent. It always felt different when you were driving a car which made you stand out for all the rest and was also equipped with a jet powered engine. Just before he shut off the ignition he checked the time.  
  
Ten minutes later than he had hoped.   
  
Not good. Not good at all.  
  
"Master Bruce," greeted Alfred as his beloved master entered the front door where the butler was waiting, "I hope you had a pleasant drive home."  
  
"Is Tim in the cave?" asked Bruce.  
  
Alfred knew it to be typical for his master not to answer the question he had asked. It didn't matter since he knew the answer. Bruce had a thing for punctuality and it was a quality that he always held within himself. Having known Bruce Wayne better than anyone else, he knew that Bruce was upset with himself for being late.  
  
"No," replied the older man. "I sent him to his bedroom to wait for you."  
  
Out of nowhere there came two thuds which sounded like they were coming off a wall which was followed a second later buy a much louder sound of impact.  
  
Wayne turned to his old friend. "What is that?"  
  
Alfred shrugged. "Forgive me, sir. I told him that you were running late nine minutes ago and he's been doing that ever since. I tried to stop him but…he's a—"  
  
"Teenager," sighed Bruce.  
  
He walked up the stairs to the long corridor which held his bedroom, Dick's old one, seven guest rooms and Tim's.  
  
Instead of knocking on the door and allowing Tim to keep the privacy that almost every teenager on the planet so desperately desired, he put his hand on the knob and twisted it carefully so that it would not make any direct sound. When he was sure the bolt was in all the way and opened the door as fast as he could, hoping to catch Tim off guard.  
  
All Bruce was able to see was Tim doing a back flip and then landing on his two feet. It seemed that the teen had been charging the walls and then running up them with just enough momentum to do a back flip off of it.  
  
As the teen landed on his feet he looked over towards the door and saw the man whom had been taking care of him for some time now.  
  
"Hey there," smiled Tim.   
  
"Sit down," said Bruce in a cold voice.  
  
The smile fell. That voice scared the living hell out of Tim. He quickly made his way to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress.   
  
"Look," he began, having already made up as many defenses as he could while doing the exercise, "whatever you heard I did…I didn't do it."  
  
"You aren't in trouble," assured Bruce. "Not yet anyway."  
  
"Well that's comforting," lied Tim. "So what's on your mind?"  
  
Bruce sat down on the mattress next to his young ward.   
  
Although Tim often did his best not to show shock or surprise around Bruce, this was certainly making things difficult. Bruce was practically five centimeters away from him and something in the far back of Tim's mind was telling that a hug might be in the cards.  
  
"Tim," began Bruce, "how long do you plan on staying in the family business?"  
  
By family business, Bruce meant their work as crime fighters.  
  
"Always," replied Tim without hesitation. The job was unlike any other a person could have at his age. It was exciting; it got your adrenaline pumping. And best of all, it was dangerous.   
  
"Are you dying?" the blue eyed teen asked out of nowhere.  
  
Bruce blinked. "Pardon?"  
  
"Are you dying? Normally I kind of expected this line of questioning if you were dying." Tim was being sincere. He had a reputation of having a smart mouth.  
  
"I'm not dying," said Bruce sternly.  
  
"Is Dick dying?" asked Tim in a concerned voice. "You can tell me."  
  
"No one is dying," growled the Dark Night's alter ego.   
  
Not yet.  
  
"You remember when Static went into the future a few days ago, right?"  
  
Tim nodded. "Sure, when he came back he was gonna tell you stuff but you stopped him." It then clicked into him. The questions about him wanting to stay in the business-asking about Static. "He told about the future," summed Tim. "He told you how its gonna look and…something's wrong with me isn't there?"  
  
Bruce nodded. "Apparently you become a civilian."  
  
The words hit Tim in the stomach like a sledge hammer.  
  
Civilian? No it was impossible. This is what he was born to do. Even if he had to do from a god damn wheelchair he would continue to do it.  
  
"Jesus," was all he could say.   
  
"I know it's difficult to accept," explained Bruce like he was trying to tell Tim that a member of their family was dying, "but that's why I've told you…"  
  
"No," growled Tim as he stood up from the bed. He whirled around and looked at Bruce. "You want to change the future! You can't. You're doing this so I don't somehow screw up in the future and make you look bad." Tears were close to streaming down his cheeks but to hell with them. To hell with Bruce. To hell with the future.  
  
"You have to understand," began Bruce.  
  
"Shut up," bellowed Tim. "You don't know dick about temporal mechanics. Suppose you try to change the future, what if that's what causes the future you saw?" He wiped the tears away and began to breathe deeply.  
  
"Why are you doing this?"  
  
Bruce looked Tim straight in the eyes and gave him the answer that no one had ever expected to come out of the lips of this man: "I'm doing this because I care for you."  
  
Tim wanted to faint. Never in all his years with Bruce had he heard him actually admit some sort of caring emotions for him.  
  
"Man," sighed Tim. "I would have preferred somebody dying over this." He returned to his position next to Bruce on the bed. Looking at his bedroom door he asked, "So what are you gonna do? Do I quit?"  
  
"No," said Bruce immediately. "I considered it on the way home. I've decided its time for you to move on."  
  
"'Move on'?" asked Tim. "What do you mean?"  
  
Bruce positioned himself so that he was looking right at the teen. "I mean you moving on to your own city to protect and serve. You be the boss. You do it your way."  
  
Tim felt the wind knocked out of him again. "B-bu-but where would I go…? I-I don't know where…"  
  
"Jump City," replied Bruce. "Its crime rate isn't as high as ours but it's getting up there."  
  
He looked Tim in the eyes. "Can you do this?"  
  
Tim nodded. As much as he didn't want to aid Bruce in changing the timeline, he knew that if it kept him from a civilian life it would be worth it.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
And that's chapter three: Yea, we finally get Robin in that one. Sorry for not updating in a while but I've been rather busy. Please R/R  
  
Next Chapter: The Bat-Team makes plans for the big move 


	4. It's A Long Way'

Wow, I knew that I should be getting more reviews by the third chapter but I didn't expect that many. Wow! Thanks a whole lot for reviewing. Chances are that it was at the lower part of the page and so you didn't notice it and that's why you didn't review. No need to apologize.  
  
Anyway, you might be wondering why I'm changing the events of what was gonna happen in the Batman future. Basically, I didn't like how in ROTJ, Tim was a civilian and I always pondered how he might be able to get out of that. Then Static went back in time and for some reason, Robin was in that episode.  
  
Anyway, here's chapter four.  
  
Chapter Four: 'It's a Long Way…'  
  
Five days later, Tim Drake sat on the couch watching Wayne Manor's biggest TV as it displayed a breaking story on CNN. It seemed that Gotham's legendary Caped Crusader had delivered a memo to billionaire Bruce Wayne-who was just about to speak the press outside Wayne Enterprises about what the message was all about.  
  
Tim knew better as to what was going on but still showed great excitement about this.  
  
"Alfred," called Tim into the kitchen. "It's on."  
  
The old butler came out of the kitchen with a gender-appropriate apron on and a rag which he was wiping his hand with.  
  
On the TV, one of the richest men in the world had just stepped against a podium which had been armed with several dozen microphones and instantly the cameras began to flash like mad. Fortunately for the viewers at home the microphones would not pick up the sound of the shutter.  
  
"Good afternoon," Bruce said looking into the cameras. "This morning I received a letter from Batman…asking me to assist him." At this point the flash bulbs seemed to be going off at a much faster rate. "He asked me to help him construct a new headquarters which he plans to erect in Jump City where a new superhero group will defend."  
  
"I'm worried," said Tim as Bruce spoke. He turned to Alfred. "Don't you think this seems just a bit…nerve-wrecking?"  
  
"Indeed," agreed the butler.  
  
Continuing on the television Bruce said, "After giving much thought to the matter, I have this to say to Batman: 'I stand ready to assist you'. Thank you."  
  
Tim stood behind the master chair while Bruce worked on the Batcave's main computer. Also with them were Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson. All were sans costumes.  
  
On the main screen was the new headquarters for Tim since he was going to be Jump City's newest protector.   
  
"It's a T," complained Tim. "How serious are people gonna take me if I fight crime from a T?"  
  
"Better than telling people you come out of a cave," defended Dick. He was all up for Tim going out on his own though only Bruce and Tim knew the true reason as to why he was.  
  
"I've been working on it for days," explained Bruce. He turned his gaze towards Tim. "I'm not changing it because it looks 'too un-cool'."  
  
"You just got told," explained Barbara.  
  
"It has everything," described Bruce who wasn't listening to the almost juvenile banter that was going on behind him. He was hoping that at least one of them-preferably Tim-would be listening to what he was saying. "Training rooms; computers; big screen television-75 inches; several bedrooms; college type swimming pool; etcetera, etcetera." He whirled the chair around to face his soon-to-be-former partner. "Do you think you can handle this?"  
  
Tim stared into the eyes of his mentor hoping he could get just a small idea of what the hell he was thinking.  
  
No such luck.  
  
"Yes," answered the teen. "But I don't think. I know."  
  
I don't think you know what you're going up against, thought Dick. He felt that perhaps this was all going just a bit too fast. And while he was proud of his younger 'brother' (Ever since Tim had been taken in by Bruce, Dick had considered him the younger brother that he never had. They acted like brothers most of the time by getting on each others nerves; getting into fights; actually fighting; getting into trouble together.) he felt that he might also not be ready. For all Dick knew, this was a very sick test that Bruce had made up so that Tim would almost get killed and show that Bruce was the superior crime fighter. But he let Tim know that if he ever needed any help, he would always lend a hand.   
  
Two months later, summer had rolled in out of nowhere. On the 25th of June, Wayne engineers reported the completion of the new HQ.   
  
And today was the day that the bird flew the nest.  
  
Outside Wayne Manor, everyone-who consisted of the Bat family-gathered to say their goodbye's to Tim Drake as he made his way to a bigger adventure.  
  
Alfred sat patiently in the car with the windows rolled up so that he wouldn't have to hear everyone say goodbye and all that. He would do his later when he dropped Tim off at the airport.  
  
"See ya," smiled the teen as he shook Dick's hand.   
  
Dick shook it and pulled him into a hug. "If you ever need anything…" he began.  
  
Tim finished for him. "I won't call you," he said pulling away with a smile.  
  
Barbara put her hands on his two shoulders. "You're gonna make us proud," she promised in that sexy voice of hers.   
  
While Tim was hoping she would French him right then and there, all he got was a kiss on the cheek and an encouraging, "Knock 'em dead."  
  
Finally there was the man who was to blame for all this?   
  
Was blame the right word to use? After all he was now giving his bird a chance to spread his wings and just fly away into the horizon of adventures.  
  
Tim swallowed. Was his throat getting dry all of a sudden? And why did he feel a lump in his throat and face getting hot. He cleared his throat. He could do this.  
  
"I guess this is goodbye," he said extending his hand for Bruce to take.   
  
"It's not," replied the man Tim wanted to call Dad. "It's just…see you later." He took the hand and shook it firmly. "Good luck, Teen Wonder."  
  
No longer Boy Wonder? thought Tim. My, my we are growing up.  
  
Tim entered the back seat of the car very slowly. His bags had already been packed and all that was left for him to pack into the vehicle was himself.  
  
As he closed the door, the engine was fired off and Alfred Pennyworth began what he considered to be one of the most difficult drives he would ever have to take part in.  
  
Tim observed the twenty thousand ton airplane which would be taking him to his new home in Jump City.   
  
He had about twenty minutes left until his plane took off but something was holding him back and that force was more powerful than any magnet God could devise.  
  
"Is something wrong, Master Tim?" asked Alfred as he waited by the teen. His luggage had been already put through the terminal-which included three pairs of his costume-and was now waiting by the faithful butler who seemed to have something extra in his pockets but Tim paid it no mind.  
  
"I'm not sure I can do it," sighed Tim. "I want to…but this is so hard. I've grown to love you guys and now I can't stand to leave you."  
  
Alfred smiled. "Hmm. Now you know how the rest of us felt when MASH and Mary Tyler Moore went off the air." He gave a comfortable sigh. "Those were the days."  
  
"If you think about it, Alfred," said Tim. "This is kind of like a TV show. And this is, like, the series finale. We know it's the end but with me going off to Jump City…we know that the adventure is going to remain. Though we won't see it…they remain dear in our hearts."  
  
"NOW BOARDING," boomed a female voice over the airport intercom, "GOTHAM FLIGHT 322 TO JUMP CITY. ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE PROCEED TO THE BOARDING GATE NOW, PLEASE."  
  
Tim sniffed and could feel the held back tears knocking their way through his eyes. "Well," he said in a sad voice, turning to the butler. "I'll guess…I'll see you later."  
  
"Yes," agreed the butler as he wiped something away from his eye. "But before you go, I have something for your carry-on luggage." As he handed Tim his small bag which held several books, some comic books and his CD's, Alfred reached into his pockets and pulled out some very large bags of candy.  
  
Tim was awestruck. Alfred usually had forbid such sweets that didn't come from the kitchen where he worked. "God, Alfred…why would you give…?"  
  
"'All work and no play'," smiled the butler as he hugged the teen. "I treasure you, young sir. Please stay this way forever."  
  
Tim broke the hug and quickly stashed the bags of candy into his carry-on bag. "I will." He composed himself quickly and shook Alfred's hand. "See ya, Alf." He knew he had time before the announcer made a final call so he strode through the airport at a slow pace and began to hum a tune he had heard. And suddenly emotion could no longer contain itself and he began to sing the tune.  
  
"It's a long way to Tipperary  
  
It's a long way to go  
  
It's a long way to Tipperary  
  
To the sweetest girl I know  
  
Goodbye, Piccadilly   
  
Farewell, Leicester Square  
  
It's a long way to Tipperary  
  
But my heart's right there!"  
  
Some people stared at Tim as he finished his song.  
  
Alfred just smiled. That and know that his young master would be just fine in Jump City.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
For some odd reason…I found it very difficult to write the goodbye scene between Tim and Alfred. Was that a tear in my eye? I must be getting old. Well, I do turn 18 in June. Anyway, thank you for reading and please don't forget to review.  
  
Next Chapter: Robin's first night as Jump City's new protector becomes eventful when he rescues a green teenager. 


	5. The Rescue and the Recruit

OK, thank you for all the reviews. This is actually inspiration for me to continue writing. I'm sure most of you are wondering why I had Tim singing at the airport near the end of Chapter Four. Those of you readers who are old enough will know that that song was sung on the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as she walked out of the station. I kinda thought that would be something interesting to put in. Anyway I'm glad no one flamed me for it. You guys rock!  
  
Chapter Five: The Rescue and the Recruit  
  
The tower was clearly visible from Jump City airport.   
  
Then again how could one miss it? It was in the shape of a giant T. You'd either have to be blind or illiterate to miss it.  
  
At the Jump City Airport, Tim had no trouble retrieving his luggage and then taking a taxi to the edge of the city which overlooked the island where his knew home was erected.  
  
"Getting in there with my costume on should be easy," the teen said to himself. "But how the hell am I gonna get my bags in there?"  
  
Hotel was the first idea that came to mind until he could think of someway to get his bags into the tower.  
  
"Your name?" asked the man behind the desk.  
  
"Max Catchson," said Tim with a voice that indicated that he didn't want to be asked too many questions. It was all just an act though. He didn't want to use his full name and he didn't want to act like himself. He just wanted to get into that tower.  
  
"It's twenty dollars a night," explained the man.  
  
Tim handed the man two bills and said, "That's for tomorrow night too."  
  
I hate hotels, thought Tim as he closed the door to his hell hole of a room. It smelt like vomit and something kept telling Tim not to sleep in the bed because the housekeeping hadn't cleaned all the semen stains from the sheets after the last occupier left.  
  
Thank God the shower was clean otherwise Tim was going to demand a refund. He would take one after he finished his first patrol. Hopefully no one would notice his absence.  
  
Putting the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, Tim slipped into his costume and looked in the bathroom mirror. All that was missing was the gel. It was his thing. While Dick's hair was all down and stuff, Tim's was wild and spiky.  
  
"Damn," he said in admiration to the mirror, "but I'm hot."  
  
The buildings in Jump City weren't as big as Gotham's but they would do now that he lived here. The new summer air was perfect at night. As he flew past someone's apartment, Robin quickly saw that it was 9:03PM.  
  
"I'll stop at one-thirty," Tim said to himself. "Two if I'm not too tired."  
  
That was when he heard it.  
  
The scream.  
  
He almost lost his gripping on his grappling hook when he heard it.  
  
Definitely masculine in origin. Didn't sound too old but it also didn't sound too young.   
  
Robin used his momentum to swing himself over to the fire-escape of a nearby apartment complex.  
  
"Hell of way to start the night," he commented when he heard the scream again. "I'm not far now."   
  
In fact if he hoped off the fire escape he would have found that three grown men, mostly in their thirties, were forming a small circle around something and afflicting physical pain upon it.  
  
"Damn it," cursed Robin. He leapt off the fire-escape and used a bird-a-rang to swing over to the victim's aid.  
  
As he dropped to the ground the three attackers stopped and gazed at Robin.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" asked one of them.  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell am I? I'm Robin," he said taking out a shock-disk. Without looking at his work, he adjusted the setting so that he wouldn't electrocute the man. The gadget was compliments of Gear. "The greatest teenage superhero of all Gotham City. And I've got a present for you; compliments of me and some genius from Dakota."  
  
"Get this bitch," shouted one of the other men. "We'll have fun with him as soon as we're done with this little bitch!" With the last word of that sentence, he kicked the victim, earning him a whimper.  
  
"Oh, hell no," cried Robin as he threw the disk. As Gear had told him it created an electrostatic burst which would stun the object that disk hit and disable any electronic equipment for 24hours.   
  
The man gave a cry as he fell to the ground giving several twitches.  
  
"That's what I call shocking," said Robin in a taunting manner. He withdrew his Bo stick and instantly attacked the two other men. Within ten seconds they had lost consciousness.   
  
"And that's what I call an ass-whooping," smiled Robin. He put the Bo stick away and bent down to the victim on the ground.   
  
Out of his utility belt he pulled out a small flashlight and gazed at the face in front of him.  
  
"What the hell have they done to you, buddy?" Robin asked the boy. His face-and Robin would later discover that his entire body-was green.   
  
There was a lot of blood coming out of his mouth and a lot of other areas.  
  
Robin gave an angry sighs. Just before leaving Gotham he read some of Jump City's crime reports. Rape gangs were a big problem. Especially the one's that targeted young males.  
  
He had to get him medical attention but something told Robin that if he took him to a hospital he might not get the treatment he deserved. He had to take him somewhere but where?  
  
The tower.   
  
It had it's own sickbay and Robin had learnt first-aid from Bruce. But Robin wasn't strong enough to carry this guy to the tower. Then an idea popped into his mind. He hit a small button on his belt and then picked the green boy up over his shoulders. He quickly carried the boy out of the area and ran towards the sidewalk. Where was it?  
  
Then the revving of a motorcycle engine could be heard. A bright red motorcycle (one that could never be found in any store) pulled up in front of him.   
  
The vehicle was driver free since the autopilot had guided it to Robin. He quickly got on and held the green victim close to his body.  
  
Two hours passed until the green boy woke up according to the sickbay clock.  
  
Robin wished he had entered the tower under more pleasant circumstances. It took him at least five minutes to find the right room and then another five to take off all but the boy's boxers and slip him into a hospital gown. When he had patched up all the wounds, Robin got a washcloth and tried scrubbing the paint off of his skin but it seemed that wouldn't work. So Robin just decided to wait in the sickbay while his new friend lay sleeping on the surgical table. He knew that he should be out patrolling the city but he couldn't risk this kid being a security risk.  
  
The boy sat up with a groan and began rubbing his head.  
  
"Wh-where am I?" he asked with a groggy voice.  
  
Robin stood up and went over to the sink. He got a cup and occupied it with water. "My place," he responded. "I saw you with bad guys back there so—"  
  
"What happened to my clothes?" screamed the boy. He then looked at Robin with a terrified look. "OK, what'd you do to me while I was out?"  
  
Robin held up his hands to declare his innocence. "Buddy, I didn't do anything to you. I swear to God I didn't. All I did was put you in the gown and patch you up." He shrugged. "But the paint's another matter."  
  
The green-boy raised an eyebrow. "Paint?" It was as if he didn't know what Robin was talking about.  
  
The teen wonder nodded. "Yea, if you want to you can use one of the showers here."  
  
"That's my skin," snarled the boy.  
  
Robin felt his throat go dry.   
  
His skin?  
  
"Oh," was all he said. "Can I ask how you got it that…green?"  
  
The boy nodded. "Yes. But I will not answer."  
  
Robin walked toward him and handed him the water. "Fair enough?"  
  
"Fair?" asked the boy. "What's fair got to do with it? It's not the answer you wanted."  
  
"No," agreed Robin, "it's not. But can you answer this question: Do you have a place to stay?"  
  
The green-boy shook his head. "Nah. Well, thank you for your help," he said hopping off the surgical table and quickly regretting it since his body hadn't fully healed, "but I think it's time I flew south for the winter."  
  
Before Robin could even form a thought in his head as to what this kid was talking about, the green boy's body shrunk into the suit and without warning, a bright green sparrow flew out from the gown and began flying around the room.  
  
Robin was sure he was about to have a heart attack or something? Was this kid a witch?  
  
After circling the room for several seconds, the bird stopped and morphed into the boy who was now only wearing his boxers. He quickly ran to the hospital gown and put it back on.  
  
"H-how'd you do that?" asked Robin.  
  
The boy shrugged. "It's a gift. I can turn into any animal that's ever existed. Problem is I always come out green. That's how I got my self-anointed nickname: Beast Boy! BB for short."  
  
"Beast Boy," smiled Robin. "What's your real name?"  
  
Beast Boy waved a hand at Robin. "Bah! It's not important. So…what do we do now?"  
  
"Got any folks?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Clothes?"  
  
"The ones you saw on me earlier. Do you have a tailor shop in this place?"  
  
Robin laughed. "No…sorry. You got any food?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Robin sighed. "What do you have?"  
  
Beast Boy bent his arms behind his back and put on a sexy face. "Only what you see…that's so wrong man," he said after bursting into laughter.  
  
Robin nodded. "OK…how bout you stay here? I've got plenty of room and besides…I'm new in town and…I kinda need your friend."  
  
Beast Boy nodded. "This is sweet! I'm roomin' with Robin! Damn, this is cool. Wait, does this make me a…you know…superhero?"  
  
Robin nodded. "Sure…but only if you're up for it.  
  
"Hell yes! I heard about all your big busts in Gotham." He began to follow Robin outside and then gazed in awe at the size of the TV. "Sweet merciful god," whispered the green shape shifter.  
  
Robin then stopped. "Actually…you can stay on one condition…"  
  
Beast Boy groaned. "I'm not gonna have to take off this gown and walk around in my boxers for your pleasure am I?"  
  
Franks hated being the only guy who had to do housekeeping but hey, it was better than being the front-desk guy. As he reached room 310, he heard some rustling inside.   
  
Without knocking, Franks burst into the room to find a teenage dressed in a red and green costume with a black and yellow cape carrying some bags in his hand.  
  
"Robin," was all Franks could say.  
  
The teen saluted him and leapt out the window.   
  
Thinking that whoever was staying here was psychotic and suicidal, Franks ran to the window to check out the remains…only to see a pterodactyl flying in the sky with a youthful looking rider on it's back.  
  
Riding through the air, Robin sighed.  
  
Saved a life and made a friend…not bad for a first night.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Wow, I must be getting carper tunnel syndrome or something. My fingers hurt. I may take a break or something. Well, R/R.  
  
Next Chapter: Robin and BB investigate what looks like an alien shuttle. 


	6. A Shooting Starfire

Wow, I like the reviews I get…they're so…inspirational. Anyway I've gotten enough credit now so if you want to flame me go right ahead.   
  
Hey! I'm serious! Bring it on!!!  
  
Chapter Six: A Shooting Starfire  
  
Robin had been up since 7AM, earning him six hours of rest since he and his new friend and partner in crime fighting, Beast Boy, had stayed up until they both got tired off of pop and junk food.   
  
It was now 9AM and Robin had been punching the bag for so long that his hands were starting to get sore. This was where Bruce's training started to kick in. The Dark Knight had taught him to ignore pain for a certain amount of time.  
  
Batman's limit was ten minutes while Robin's own was just under two.   
  
"Morning," he heard a voice say from behind him.  
  
Robin turned around and saw that Beast Boy had just gotten up and was wearing some of his civilian clothing. It seemed the Teen Wonder was a bit taller than the green shape shifter since they looked very baggy.  
  
Giving the bag a final punch, Robin finished his workout and wiped his sweat infested forehead with a towel. All he wore was just some gray sweatpants, his mask and his shoes.  
  
"Morning," he greeted back. He wondered if Beast Boy was a little jealous of the six-pack he had going on. "Have you eaten?"  
  
Beast Boy shook his head and yawned. "No. Hope you don't mind me borrowing this, Tim?"  
  
"Not at…how'd you know my real name." Robin pulled off his mask and revealed his true complexion. There was no need in carrying on with the secret-identity thing. Beast Boy knew it and the secret was out. Well to only him and whoever he told in his dreams.  
  
"Your wallet fell out of the pants pocket and…I couldn't help it." A smile now formed on his face. "So…I guess this means…"  
  
"Bruce Wayne is Batman," sighed Robin as he put his mask back on. "Yes…it's true."  
  
"Cool," said BB.  
  
"How do I know you won't tell anyone?" asked Robin with a serious tone.  
  
Beast Boy now got serious. "Because I'll tell you something very few people know about me."  
  
"You're a transvestite?" guessed Robin.  
  
Beast Boy fell on the ground laughing in a hysterical fit. "Awesome…" he said as he stood back up. "No my name. My name is…Garfield Logan."  
  
Robin knitted his brow. "Yea…OK. We're even. Now how bout breakfast?"  
  
"Got tofu?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Tofu, thought Robin. "No, why?"  
  
"I'm a vegetarian," explained Beast Boy. "Got anything that's not-meat?"  
  
Robin thought about this. "Well…the Frosted Flakes come from a box with a tiger on it. Is that too much or…?"  
  
"That'll do," said BB.  
  
**********************  
  
"So what do we do today?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Robin wiped his and looked at the changeling. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Like, do we go out on patrols or do we have shifts or something? Also…how late am I gonna be out cause if I'm up past two in the AM…"  
  
Robin shook his head. "It's not gonna be like that."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Robin gave a clever smile. "I mean that we go out whenever we feel like it. The computers in this tower can detect any alarm system that goes off. If it does…it'll sound like all hell will break loose here. Then we spring into action." A question then burst into Robin's mind. "Out of curiosity, when you changed into that bird last night the hospital gown fell off of you but…well I don't want to sound like a pervert but your boxers didn't. How come?"  
  
Beast Boy waited until he had swallowed before he could answer. "Dunno…I just wanted the boxers to stay on and…well as you saw they did."  
  
"Cool…if you want…I got a workout outfit you could wear…it'd probably fit you a lot better and…"  
  
Robin was interrupted by a high pitched beep that was coming from one of the computer stations. Though the tower was new to him, he knew what that automatically meant: Trouble.  
  
"What's up?" asked Beast Boy from the table.  
  
"There's an unidentified vessel crashing about five miles out of town," replied Robin as he kept his eyes on the screen. "Suit up. Let's go."  
  
**********************  
  
Again, Robin rode on the back of a green pterodactyl until they came upon what looked like an alien space craft.  
  
Robin quickly hopped of the extinct bird as it morphed back into Beast Boy. He wore an Adidas jumpsuit which consisted of a blue jacket and black pants. The pair looked at the vessel in amazement. Everyone knew that aliens existed but…they never thought they would actually encounter one.  
  
"Let's check it out," ordered Robin as he started to move towards Beast Boy who was further ahead than him by about five feet.  
  
Beast Boy quickly grabbed Robin's arm as soon as they stood the same distance away from the spacecraft. "Wait, Robin," he cautioned. "It might be dangerous…you go first."  
  
Before Robin could even sigh, there was a creak from the ship and a bulkhead suddenly became a door.   
  
Out stepped a female who wore a very revealing purple outfit. Her skin was almost dark peach. And her hair was red and gorgeous.  
  
"Whoa…," was all Beast Boy could say.   
  
"Expect the unexpected," said Robin. It was something that his mentor had often told him when going into a dangerous situation that didn't look so dangerous.  
  
"Greetings," said the girl. "Forgive my abrupt crashing; I did not know my fuel levels were so low."  
  
"Uh…no problem," replied Robin.  
  
The girl smiled but gasped when she turned around and saw the ground she brought up upon her landing. "Oh goodness," she cried. "I hope this isn't someone's land. I knew my landing would be disastrous." She then hung her head in sorrow.  
  
"Nice butt," observed Beast Boy. He was quickly elbowed in the arm by Robin.  
  
The girl turned around. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
Since Beast Boy didn't want to explain what he had said Robin decided to step in and improvise.  
  
"Nice landing," lied Robin. "But you might want to use autopilot next time."  
  
The girl considered this and nodded. "Yes, perhaps you are right."  
  
"Who are you?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
The girl did a curtsey and said, "I am Starfire. I come from a planet called Tammaran. It is several hundred light years from your planet."  
  
"Oh," said the two boys at the same time.   
  
"So…what brings you to our corner of the galaxy?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Starfire turned to the green teenager. "I have reached the age where I must perform my Tomo Y'Allas. It is a coming of age ceremony where Tamaranians leave the home world and explore the galaxy."   
  
"Cool," said Robin. He turned towards his partner. "This is Beast Boy and I'm Robin."  
  
Beast Boy took her hand gently into his and gave a nice and simple shake. Robin did the same but with a firmer grip.  
  
"You didn't happen to make any reservations at a hotel did you?" asked Beast Boy with a clever-as-a-fox grin. "Cause if you wanted to…you could stay with me and Robbie."  
  
Starfire held up her palms. "Oh, please…I do not wish to impose on the two of you."  
  
"There'd be no problem," insisted Beast Boy. "In fact, Robin was thinking of having another roommate move in with us this…"  
  
"Will you excuse us for a second?" asked Robin as he grabbed Beast Boy's arm and led him away by about six feet.  
  
"What's your problem?" Beast Boy asked the Teen Wonder.   
  
"You're a genius," smiled Robin. "I was thinking of having her move in with us."  
  
"Good," Beast Boy smiled back. The two of them walked back towards Starfire.  
  
"We would be honored if you would join us," said Robin.  
  
"Glorious," declared Starfire. Her body was quickly lifted off of the ground and flew towards the aft side of the ship.  
  
"You can fly?" asked Beast Boy. From where he was standing he couldn't see any wings and he was quite certain it wasn't the wind.  
  
Starfire analyzed the damage to the engines and then looked at him. "Why, certainly. Can you not?"  
  
Beast Boy shrugged. "Not unless I turn into a bird and I know Robin can't."  
  
The alien girl giggled. "I am also capable of producing starbolts."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Starbolts?"  
  
She nodded. "Indeed. Energy which can be produced from the hands or eyes. I am only capable of releasing them from my fists."  
  
"Could you give us a demo?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Starfire nodded and produced a rock from the ground. She threw it up into the morning air and waited until its ascent had ended until she allowed her hands to grow green. Before Robin could ask if she was alright a green bolt shot out of her hand and struck the rock at faster-than-light speed. The rock burst into flames and vaporized.  
  
"Ever use that on a person?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Starfire nodded and said, "Yes but the result of the bolt is determined by me. If I wanted it to just hit the rock, it would have done so."  
  
"Dude," exclaimed Beast Boy. "You should totally come live with Robin and me. Become a superhero."  
  
Starfire looked puzzled. "Superhero?"  
  
"Maybe we should discuss this elsewhere?" suggested Robin. "Like back at the tower?"  
  
**************  
  
Luckily for the trio of gifted teens, Starfire's vessel had just enough power to transport them back to the tower (under a cloaking device so not to cause general panic) and give a safe landing.   
  
Now the three teenagers sat at the breakfast table where Beast Boy's cereal had gone soggy so he just played at it with his spoon.  
  
"Our world," Robin explained to the alien beauty who sat between him and Beast Boy, "is full of lots of interesting people. However sometimes people decide to choose a life of crime. Some of them just put on a mask to hide their identities and use a gun to get what they want…others use sophisticated devices and often have henchmen. Now we have police forces on Earth as well as forces that are above them, such as the FBI or NSA. Now when the gap gets too big from what the FBI or NSA doesn't want to deal with and what the police can't handle effectively, that's where we come in."  
  
"The superheroes," finished Starfire.  
  
Robin nodded. "I've been doing it for a little while but I'm not sure about Garf-uh-Beast Boy."  
  
"I'm a newbie," explained the green teen.  
  
"But why do you wear a mask, Robin?" asked Starfire.  
  
"Well, if people discovered who I really was, it might put others-such as family and friends-in danger of criminals who would use them as a hostage…or a tool for revenge." Robin was hoping that the girl would understand what he was saying. In his find he could picture her world. A nice pink and baby-blue planet where everyone says, hello and goodbye to people. Never burp or fart without saying excuse me afterwards. Probably like the Garden of Eden minus the nudity.  
  
"And you wish for me to become a superhero?" asked Starfire.  
  
Robin raised his green hands. "Now only if you want it. I mean, we can't force you to do this. It's very dangerous and full of risks."  
  
"I am aware of the risks," she said sternly. "And I am not afraid to die to protect innocent people."  
  
"Awesome," cried Beast Boy. "We're gonna have so much fun, Star."  
  
The two began a conversation as Robin got up from the table and checked on one of the computers to see if anything had happened while they were gone.  
  
"What's this?" Robin asked to himself as he found that someone had left a video recording.  
  
He opened it and suddenly on the biggest television in Jump City, the face of Bruce Wayne appeared and said, "You need to contact me immediately."   
  
Beast Boy thought he could hear an engine roaring in the background of the message but just as he was about to focus in on the sound, he heard a thud and saw Robin passed out on the floor.  
  
To Be Continued.  
  
Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dunnnnnnn-nun-nun-nun-nun-nun-nun-nun-nunnnnnnn  
  
What was the call about? What will happen next? And who made the call??? Oh…well we all know who did but anyway. Please R/R  
  
Next Chapter: Robin contacts Bruce and discovers something urgent. 


	7. An Interesting Day in Town

OK. I know that in every chapter I add a new character well guess what. I've been getting this a lot: Put Raven in the next chapter; Save her for last etc etc. Well in this chapter I'm not adding any character. I want you to decide who'll be next. Whoever gets the most votes will be added next. I hope you understand. Think of it like American Idol…you decide who moves onto the next chapter. And on the plus side, there's no Ryan Seacrest.  
  
PS: To any big fans of BB, he was not in anyway…'violated' by that gang. I said that they targeted young men. But maybe I'll mention that in this chapter.  
  
Chapter Seven: An Interesting Day in Town  
  
"Did he die?" Robin heard Starfire ask.  
  
"No," Beast Boy answered. "He just fainted."  
  
"But why?" the alien teenager asked. "Is this man some sort of enemy to Robin?"  
  
Though Robin couldn't see the conversation taking place, he was visualizing it in his mind. Starfire was probably checking to see if he was still breathing and BB was standing on the other side, contemplating if he would be out long enough to put Robin's hand in a bowl of warm water.  
  
His eyes suddenly burst open and he jumped up, earning a gasp from both of his partners.  
  
"He's not my enemy," explained Robin. "He's the one who taught me everything I need to know." He turned to Starfire and explained, "This man is Bruce Wayne. He's one of the wealthiest men alive today. He's also one of the greatest crime fighter's of all time: Batman. He took me off the streets and made me his sidekick."  
  
"So why does he wish to speak with you?" asked Starfire.  
  
Robin sighed. "I don't know. Chances are he's recalling me."  
  
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "Meaning…?"  
  
Robin turned to his green friend. "Meaning that I go back to Gotham and my little stint here in Jump City ends."  
  
"Oh, hell no," cried Beast Boy. "No way am I leaving this place. I've finally got a home and some lunatic who thinks he's a bat decides against me…SCREW THAT. (AN: Was that OOC?) Robin, you gotta call him back."  
  
"Agreed," said Starfire. "Perhaps you can make an appeal to remain at this position."  
  
She's right, thought Robin, I've waited a long time for a position on my own and now he wants to take it away from me? Ha! I've got five words for Bruce: 'From my cold dead hands'.  
  
"All right," said Robin. "I'll do it. Question is…where is Bruce?"  
  
No one had responded to the telephone at Wayne Manor and Beast Boy had discovered, with Starfire's assistance, that Bruce had made sure no one would be able to trace the call.  
  
"I am confused," confessed Starfire. "If your mentor wishes for you to contact him, why does he make it so difficult?"  
  
Robin played the message again on one of the small computers and listened to it quietly.  
  
"Because," explained Robin. "It's a test. He wants to see if I can find him."  
  
"So how do we do that?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
"We have to look through the message very thoroughly," answered Robin. "That's our only clue."  
  
Robin hit the play button and listened to the message again.  
  
He clicked it off.  
  
"Hear anything?"  
  
Starfire leaned closer to Robin and the screen.  
  
Her breathing was sending shivers down his neck as she replayed the last five seconds of the message.  
  
"There," she said. "I am quite certain I can hear something."  
  
"Let's see," said Robin as he increased the background noise so that it would be more powerful than Bruce's voice. As he spoke there was a rumbling going on in the background.  
  
"That sounds like rocket exhaust," Robin hypothesized.   
  
"Indeed," agreed Starfire. "I knew that sounded familiar."  
  
"So, where would you need Bruce Wayne to launch a rocket?" Beast Boy asked.  
  
Robin sat back in his chair for five seconds before he snapped his fingers and came up with the response.  
  
"Wayne Aerospace."  
  
Bruce Wayne leaned over the chair of one of the workers at Wayne Aerospace, whose job was to monitor satellite data.  
  
"Wherever it is, sir," said the man, "it's gone."  
  
"Last known position?" demanded Bruce.  
  
"Jump City," replied the man. "Disappeared from our view about thirty minutes ago. Looks like it went towards that tower Batman set up."  
  
Bruce Wayne gave a sigh. "Thanks. Let me know if anything else happens. I'll be in my office; I promised the Pentagon people I would give them an update."  
  
Bruce's satellites were quick to pick up the alien vessel that had entered the atmosphere on a course that was unknown. And of course the government was always worried about unidentified vessels. The biggest fear next to terrorist attacks was alien invasions.  
  
As he entered his office, the telephone instantly rang.   
  
General Wilkes must have known I was on my way, thought Bruce as he closed the door and picked up the receiver. "Wayne here."  
  
"You called," said a familiar voice on the other line.  
  
Bruce knew instantly who it was.   
  
"Tim," he began urgently, "listen to me. A UFO landed a short while ago and I just found out that it vanished near the tower. What's going on?"  
  
There was a laugh at the other end. "Relax. I've met the pilot."  
  
"What his intent?"  
  
"Actually, it's 'what's her intent'. And she's doing a coming of age ritual. It seems I've started a trend."  
  
Bruce suddenly heard giggling in the background along with some squeaky laughter.  
  
"Is that her?" he asked.  
  
"Her and Beast Boy," replied Robin.  
  
"Beast Boy?"  
  
"Oh, yea. I should have told you about him. Friendly kid. Did you know he's a shape-shifter?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Now that's a pity. He can transform into any animal."  
  
"What's your situation with them?"  
  
Robin's voice now became extremely pleasant. "They're living with me. We're gonna form our own crime fighting team."  
  
"Tell your alien female friend that the next time she wishes to land on earth, she might want to contact one of the regional governments."  
  
"Oh and I'm sure she'd love all the dissections and probing she'd have to go through too," said Robin sarcastically.  
  
Bruce Wayne hung up.  
  
"Get me the Pentagon," he said into his intercom.   
  
There was a pause followed by a voice saying, "This is Wiles."  
  
"You being recalled?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
Robin shook his head. "Just wanted to make sure we welcome our new friend into the neighborhood."  
  
Starfire instantly zoomed up towards the ceiling. "Glorious. Come, friends. We must celebrate the non-recall."  
  
"Well that's great," began Beast Boy, "but who's got money?"  
  
Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out what seemed to be a credit card that had the mayor of Gotham's-Hamilton Hill- signature on it. It enabled Robin to buy whatever he wanted cost-free in Gotham as a thank-you gift for all the service he had done.  
  
And he never got a bill for it.  
  
"I've got one word for you two," he said with a grin. "Spree!"  
  
While the two males gave each other high-fives, Starfire sat in confusion as she waited for them to stop celebrating to ask them what a spree was.  
  
The day had blossomed into a beautiful summer afternoon and the three teenagers had decided that they would walk into town. Robin wore his costume because he figured that if any trouble were to come up, he wouldn't have to change at all.  
  
"Where do we 'spree' first?" asked Starfire, who was eager to shop for the first time on Earth.  
  
"Convenience store," crowed Beast Boy. It made sense anyway since they were walking right past the store. "We should party tonight and that's where we can get junk food and stuff."  
  
Starfire raised an eyebrow. "Junk food?"  
  
"Non-nutritional supplements," explained Robin. "They taste very good."  
  
"Glorious," said Starfire as the bell rang over their head as Beast Boy pulled open the door.   
  
"Bitch," cried a male voice inside the store, "I want my goddamn money back!"  
  
"You only gave me five dollars," another voice cried back.   
  
Robin could tell by the voice that the woman was a young oriental woman who was probably in her twenties. (AN: Hey, he was trained by Batman! He's got an ear for that sort of thing)  
  
The three teens rushed in to see if there what was going on but did so that they didn't draw attention to themselves.  
  
Behind the cashier was Robin's oriental woman who indeed was in her twenties.  
  
In front of the counter was a twenty year old white male 50 Cent (AN: I refuse to spell 'fiddy'.) wannabe. "I gave you twenty freaking dollars."  
  
"No you didn't," cried the cashier. "You only gave me five dollars."  
  
"No," disagreed the wannabe, "I gave you twenty and I ain't gonna be arguin' with your fat ass, homegirl."  
  
Over by the candy stands, Beast Boy had to muffle a laugh with his two hands so that neither of the two arguers would hear them.  
  
Robin and Starfire stood near the back of the store where the large fridges which stored various amounts of soda were stored. The Teen Wonder questioned how long they had until something happened or when they were noticed.   
  
"Homegirl!?"  
  
"I want my damn change back!"  
  
"Go home," cried the cashier. "You only gave me five dollars. Not gonna get change back."  
  
Beast Boy, now holding a large Tootsie Roll in his hand, approached behind the wannabe. He wasn't going to interfere; he just wanted something to snack on while he shopped for other junk food.  
  
The wannabe growled. "You know what the problem is with you Chinese—"  
  
Robin clasped his hands over Starfire's ears so she would hear the twelve letter curse (AN: It starts with mother…). He didn't want to explain that one to her yet.  
  
The cashier didn't seem to take any offence to the last word of the sentence but was upset about the word before.  
  
"Chinese?" she shouted. "I'm not Chinese, I'm Japanese." She shouted a curse at the wannabe in her native tongue.  
  
He didn't care. "Shut up. Homegirl, don't go talking that Japanese crap up in here."  
  
Reaching into the front of his pants, he pulled out a .45 automatic and aimed it at the cashier's head.   
  
Beast Boy instantly dropped his Tootsie Roll and morphed into a boa constrictor while Robin and Starfire stood at the ready.  
  
Wrapping himself up the wannabe's leg he almost got the gun when suddenly Beast Boy felt his throat being squeezed and all air being stopped. He had to revert to his original form if he stood any chance of survival. But only doing so put him in chocking hold with the gun pointed at his temple.  
  
"Make any move," cried the wannabe, "and you're dead."  
  
"Let him go," said Robin.   
  
"Surrender," declared Starfire.  
  
"Don't bet on it, ho!" He released Beast Boy and aimed his gun at the windows of the store. At the same time of boom the windows shattered and broke. The wannabe bent down and picked up Beast Boy's candy and instantly dashed out of the window and into the streets.   
  
Starfire and Robin immediately dashed to Beast Boy who was still gasping for breath.  
  
"Are you damaged?" asked Starfire.  
  
Beast Boy took a few deep breaths before wheezing, "He stole my Tootsie Roll."  
  
"Don't move," said Robin. He turned to Starfire. "Come on. Time to go crime fighting!"  
  
Starfire flew, while Robin ran, out of the glass hole in the window and chased after the wannabe.  
  
Robin could feel his blood boiling and his adrenaline levels getting higher and higher.  
  
"Star," shouted Robin, "ready a bolt."  
  
The alien girl's hand began to glow green and a bolt shot out of her hand, striking the wannabe in the back, sending him high in the air. Robin found this ample time to throw a birdarang and have it tie around the wannabe's ankles. He dropped to the ground with a loud thud.   
  
As Starfire and Robin approached him to take him into custody, Beast Boy came running up.  
  
"Can't let you two have all the fun," he said. He looked at the wannabe. "Seems like you already did."  
  
Robin took out his wallet and emptied a few pennies into his hand. He bent down and then picked something out of the wannabe's hand.   
  
He handed the candy to Beast Boy. "There's your candy." He threw the pennies hard on the wannabe. "There's your change."  
  
Starfire instantly kicked the wannabe in the back.   
  
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Forgive me," she apologized. "Was that not necessary?"  
  
Robin heard a police siren approaching and then heard the cashier running out of the store shouting, "Arrest that wanksta. Arrest that wanksta."  
  
After buying almost twenty pounds of junk food, Starfire finally found a way to show her thanks to Robin and Beast Boy.  
  
"You're going to make me a costume?" the green teen asked her.   
  
She nodded, knowing that the workout costume Robin had leant him was insufficient for such a brave person such as him.  
  
After emerging from the fabric store with two brown bags, Starfire announced that she was ready to return to the tower.  
  
"You work pretty fast," Beast Boy remarked when she told him that he had finished.   
  
The costume awaited him in his room. He was to try it on and then show it off to Robin and Starfire.  
  
He entered his room and allowed the door to hiss shut.  
  
While he did his thing, Starfire turned to Robin. "Tell me, Robin. What can I do for you to repay you for taking me into your tower?"  
  
Robin raised a hand in objection. "Nothing, Star. Just…be my friend."  
  
The door hissed open. There stood Beat Boy in a black suit which had a large streak of purple down the middle. Across his waist was a belt which resembled Robin's slightly. On his hands were gray gloves and on his feet, black and purple shoes.  
  
He didn't look entirely satisfied.  
  
"It's purple," he said. "Guys don't wear purple."  
  
"No," defended Starfire, "on my planet, the color purple signifies bravery and compassion."  
  
Robin decided he would come to the aid of his friend. "Yea, Beast Boy. Besides, it takes a brave man to wear a color like purple or pink in public." He snapped his fingers. "You know, three weeks ago I saw Hugh Hefner on ET. Wearing a pink shirt."  
  
Beast Boy sighed. "All right. I'll do it, but only because I'm living with you guys."  
  
Robin smiled. "Great, let's watch a movie and use up that junk food."  
  
"Anything good on at eight o'clock?" Beast Boy asked as he led the two others to the big screen TV. He quickly forgot about his purple uniform.  
  
Starfire picked up an issue of TV Guide. "Perhaps the movie Jaws can entertain us?"  
  
Robin nodded. It was a movie that wouldn't take a lot of explaining. He sat down between her and Beast Boy. In less than 72 hours in Jump City, he made two friends he knew were perfect for him.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Ok, so the message from Bruce wasn't so urgent but…sorry.  
  
I know I haven't updated in a LONG time and I'm REALLY sorry. I've just been busy and all and I should have made more time. Sorry if this chapter seems crap-tacular but I wanted to get it done. Please don't kill me. I will update ASAP. In the mean time, keep R&R'n. I got so many when I didn't update that it inspired me.   
  
Don't forget: YOU get to choose the next Titan who shows up. It's down to Cyborg and Raven. Who will be the next…Teen Titan? Shadow Avenger out!   
  
Damn, I find that Ryan guy really annoying!  
  
God Bless Ronald Wilson Reagan from Shadow Avenger, a Canadian who is not afraid to show respect to the fallen leader of a great nation. 


	8. Raven

OK, I'm sure you people wanna put my head on a mantle but the truth was I just had writers block. I've been rather busy also (I got a movie agent) and I'm pretty excited about that.

But onto the story.

Chapter Eight: Raven

Two weeks had passed since Starfire had arrived in Jump City.

Crime was at an all time low.

And the three superheroes were growing restless.

"Dude," Beast Boy declared to his two friends as they watched a French cooking show, which they could not understand due to their lack of fluency, "we should go out and do something."

"Agreed," said Starfire. "While the crime fighting has been rewarding, I cannot help but feel an emptiness occurring between now and the time that civilians need us."

Robin sighed. He couldn't help but feel desperate to find anyway to fight the boredom. He got up from the couch and headed towards the table to the newspaper.

_Gotta be something in here to kill some time_, he thought. His blue eyes skimmed through the paper as fast as he could until an article caught his attention.

NEW POETRY CAFÉ GAINS HUGE CROWDS

After being open for only three weeks _Poe's Poetry Corner and Coffee Shop _has drawn in huge crowds not just for a perk but for poetry as well. Every night at 8PM the shop gathers over fifty patrons who are either there to listen and drink or just share.

"It's a pretty awesome place," declares Andy Sins as he drinks a black coffee. "You know, people come in, all sorts of people, just read their stuff and then just listen to others. They should open another place like this."

Robin looked at his two friends. "How does a poetry café sound?"

_Poe's Poetry Corner and Coffee Shop_ had a very large black bird over its sign. Clenched between the bills of the bird was a human eye.

Naturally anyone who saw it knew that it was an amazing statue. But to an alien who was new to this world, it might just scare them a little.

"Are you sure this corner of poetry and coffee is safe?" Starfire asked as she covered the end of Robin's cape over her face.

Robin turned around to the alien teen with a smile. "Trust me."

"Yea," agreed Beast Boy, "the only scary thing in here is probably the poetry."

The door jingled as the entered and from what Robin saw, the article wasn't lying when it described the popularity of the small shop.

Though it was only mid afternoon the area was packed. Luckily for the three superheroes they were able to find a small table for them to sit at.

Robin looked around the café. Lots of Goths and other people who probably went outside during daylight hours seldom.

Suddenly Robin could feel all the eyes in the store on him and his friends.

_Great_, he thought. This was exactly the type of thing he was trying to avoid. He and his friends had gotten some fair attention of Jump City and whenever they went out to stop a bank robbery, there would always be a crowd taking pictures. It made their job harder and it distracted them.

Starfire leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Robin, why are these people staring at us."

"Because they recognize us," he whispered back. He leaned forward on the table towards Beast Boy. "Perhaps we should leave."  
The green teenager waved a hand at Robin. "Relax, fearless leader. The B-Man has got this in the bag." He stood up and addressed the store. "Hey, I know what you're thinking. 'Oh my god, it the superheroes.' Actually...we're the fan club. You know, we dress up like them because it's the only way we can pass time in the void that is our lives."

"Oh," chorused the store. They went back to doing whatever they were doing before.

"A clever explanation," congratulated Starfire. "How did you come up with it?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Aw, I just heard it on TV once."

A waiter approached the trio. "What can I get you?"

"Black coffee," said Robin. He then looked at Starfire. She hadn't tried coffee before and she might not like it black. He ordered the same for her but with lots of milk, cream and sugar.

"And what do you want?" the waiter asked Beast Boy.

Beast Boy looked rather embarrassed and scratched the back of his head. "Uh...do you guys have chocolate milk? Cause if you do I'll take a large."

The waiter raised an eyebrow as if he was questioning the changeling's order but nodded. He left and went to get their orders.

Robin leaned forward on the table past Starfire so that he could see Beast Boy's face.

"You don't like coffee?"  
Beast Boy made a disgusted face. "Dude, the stuff tastes like pee. Chocolate milk is my coffee."

Robin chuckled.

Beast Boy smiled and looked around the café. While to the naked eye it looked like he was just scanning the shop, he was actually looking for someone to hit on.

It was then that she caught his attention.

The strange thing was she was doing nothing to do so. The girl wore a blue cloak and appeared to be reading a book. Beast Boy couldn't tell anything else about her because her back was to him.

He had to try her out.

"Guys," he whispered, "see that chick over there?" He pointed very lightly so that it would not attract attention.

"Yea," responded Robin. Starfire nodded.

"I'm gonna go hit on her," he said in an almost impulsive voice.

Starfire looked confused. "Why would you wish to harm her?"

"He means he's going to see if she's attracted to him," Robin explained.

"Oh," said Starfire. "I wish you luck in the courting of unknown females."

Beast Boy winked and got up from the table.

_Okay, BB,_ he thought,_ you can do this. Just release the old animal charm._

He approached the table with a confident air about him. He faced the girl as she continued to read her book.

She didn't seem to pay any attention to him at all.

_Ah, a bookworm_, thought Beast Boy. He pulled out the chair opposite to her and sat down.

"Hi there," he greeted.

She seemed to have two other books on the table right next to her arm. Beast Boy could tell from the cover on the top of the pile that it was Stephen King's _Misery_.

The girl lowered the book so that only the top of her head up to her eyes showed. She seemed to have some sort of jewel fused into the center of her forehead. Her skin was strangely pale but that didn't deter Beast Boy.

Her eyes sent him a message: 'Go away'. She raised the book back up.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked.

The girl lowered her book again in the same position it was before.

"Can't you read?" she asked bitterly.

Beast Boy squinted and looked at the cover of her book.

"_The Raven and Other Works _by Edgar Allen Poe," he read. "Sounds cool."

The girl nodded and raised the book to its previous position.

"I'm Beast Boy," the green teenager said extending an open hand.

Mystery girl stayed where she was.

_Whew_, Beast Boy thought, _better go to plan B. I should really work on 'A' for the future though._

"So...your book," he said, trying to show interest, "what's happening in it?"

"I don't know," she responded, the book still covering her face.

Beast Boy gave a chuckle. "Okay, how can you be reading it and not know what's going on? Is it, like, hard to understand, cause I have a way with words."

The girl folded the book down on the table. Her face looked stern and her voiced matched it. "No. I don't know what's going on because I seem to be constantly interrupted by a green little man who seems to have more of a way with body odor than with words."

Beast Boy could literally feel himself shrink in his chair.

"Oh," was all he could say weakly.

A scream erupted behind Beast Boy. He turned around and saw three people brandishing assault riffles. Each of the robbers seemed to have their weapon aimed at a certain sector of the store.

"All right," called the leader. "This is gonna be quick. You two," he pointed his weapon at Robin and Starfire. "I don't believe that fan club crap for one minute. Take of that belt and slide it across the floor. As for you, dear, if you make a laser beam with your hands I start make some heads blow, understand."

Robin quickly removed his utility belt and slid it across the floor so it was now at his captor's feet.

Starfire remained motionless and kept her hands on the table.

"What about that one?" another one of the robbers said pointing his rifle at Beast Boy.

The changeling gave a small whimper that could only be heard by him.

"I'll stay here," he said with a scared smile.

The lead robber smiled and turned to his partners. "All right, you two, keep an eye on everyone." He aimed his rifle at the cashier. "You empty that and the safe and the register."

As Beast Boy sat there, his mind raced like a horse.

"Hey," he whispered to his mystery girl, who still sat with her book down, "are you scared?"

The girl pushed her seat back and stood up straight, pulling the blue hood over her head so that most of her face was hidden.

"I don't do fear," she replied.

"Hey, sit down," one of the robbers.

The girl closed her eyes and began chanting something.

"Do what he says," urged Beast Boy, "or he'll kill you."

"Azarath, metrion, zinthos," the girl shouted.

_She's gone nuts,_ thought Beast Boy as he stood up to protect her from any gunfire.

But as he gazed at the robbers, he saw their weapons become almost highlighted with some sort of dark energy. In it, light became dark and dark became light. The weapons soon curled like pretzels.

"Wha-what the hell?" cursed one of the robbers.

Robin picked up his coffee mug and threw it at the lead robber. It seemed that everyone thought this to be the appropriate course of action and began doing the same.

Five minutes later police vehicles, one of them containing the three culprits, surrounded the area.

"Are you all right?" asked Robin as he put his belt back on.

"I am undamaged," said Starfire.

"Me too," said Beast Boy. He looked back towards his table and saw that his mystery friend and heroine had left. "Where'd she go?" he asked out loud.

He quickly dashed out of the store and leapt into the air, changing quickly into a crow. With a literal birds eye view of the area, it did not take him long to find her walking down the street carrying a large blue duffel bag.

As he swooped down he quickly turned back into human form so that he was in front of her. Robin and Starfire quickly caught up.

"Dude," panted Beast Boy, "that was amazing. What'd you do to their guns anyway?"

"Telekinesis," explained the girl. "All it requires is a disciplined mind and a lot of patience." She walked past Beast Boy.

"Hey, wait up," he said walking in front of her. He turned around and faced her while walking backwards. As he spoke he would look back every few seconds to make sure he wouldn't hit anything.

"Look, I know you seem to be all 'leave me alone' and everything but what you did back there kicked ass! And you know, what, you have a gift. Now you can either just walk to wherever you're heading or you can, like, you know, become a superhero." Just as Beast Boy turned around, he ran into a streetlight. He gave a four-letter curse.

He regained himself and stood up straight, wiping a drop of blood from his nostril.

"So what's your answer?"

The girl sighed and dropped her bag. "Raven," she said.

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.

"My name," she explained, "that's my name."

"Oh," said Beast Boy.

"Why do you want me to join?" Raven asked, turning to face all three of them.

"Well," said Robin, "I think you would make a great addition."

"I've read about your work in the newspaper. What are you guys called?"

"We're...working on that," explained Beast Boy. "But are you in?"  
Raven sighed. "Gee, either walk around the world aimlessly or join some youth superheroes whose club doesn't have a name?" She looked at the three of them with an emotionless face. "No one better go into my room."

To Be Continued...

All right I finally got it done. If you want to yell at me for taking so long to update, that's cool. I'll be a lot quicker with the next-possibly last-chapter. So please update and if you could, point me in the direction of any other stories that talk about how the Titans formed and all that good stuff. Thanks.

Shadow Avenger


	9. Metallic Macho Man

Hey, gang, I've updated. You may think this is the last chapter…it's not. Sorry to disappoint but hey, I am to please. Enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter Nine: Metallic Macho Man

Raven had been living with Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy for two days and in those two days she was able to get a brief idea of what living with them would be like for longer than two days. Much longer.

Robin was competitive and almost driven to be something that he wasn't. Raven assumed that living in Batman's shadow might do that to someone.

Starfire-if she were human-would fit right up there with Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Nicole Ritchie as one of the least intelligent people in the world. But she was alien and this was a new planet for her to explore. So if she didn't know what Chicken of the Sea or Wal-Mart was…she had her reason.

And finally, Beast Boy was…Beast Boy. Ever since she had arrived, the green teenager was acting like he was trying to make her stay there as comfortable as possible.

_He's going to be happy working on a cruise line one day_, she would always think to herself whenever he did something kind for her.

And at times she found him to be an immature little cretin. It seemed that if he had the option, he would sacrifice his own life just to bring the _Three Stooges_ back to life. His jokes were crude and unfunny (to her) and at times she just wanted to put a telekinetic barrier around his mouth. But then again, it was much easier to go into another room and just not listen.

That night, the four teens were watching an old movie, which Starfire had requested they all watch.

"I am curious," she announced during a commercial break. "Why does the one Colonel hate the other one?"

"Because," explained Robin. "Nicholson-in a way-holds Saito's life in his hands. If Nicholson orders his men to build the bridge, he's proving British superiority over their Japanese captors. And if the bridge isn't built, Saito will kill himself because of the shame."

"It's a no-win situation," explained Raven.

"Dude," exclaimed Beast Boy. "You're so right. Man, that Saito's lucky _I _wasn't in that camp. I'd tear him a new one. That'll teach him to obey the Geneva Convention."

"Tear him a new what?" asked Starfire.

Before Beast Boy could answer that question in a way that would be appropriate the general alarm rang out.

"What is it?" asked Raven.

Robin raced the computer console. "Break in at the electronic store."

"Let's roll," said Beast Boy.

"Would it not be easier to fly?" asked Starfire.

JC Electronics silent alarm had been triggered just nanoseconds after Dr. John Light's blaster had destroyed the front windows. He stepped in over the broken glass hoping that he would find what he wanted quickly.

Years ago he had been fired from the governments weapons R&D for illegally making weapons that his superiors described as 'too risky'.

_The risk is mine to take now_, he thought.

He moved towards the back of the store where the necessary equipment he needed would be located. But just as he reached the back, something whirled through the air and struck the wall, just inches from his face. His head turned to the object. It was red and shaped like a bird and a boomerang.

He turned and saw the four teens that almost all of Jump City was talking about.

Giving a toothy smirk he said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the brat pack."

Robin gritted his teeth. 'Brat pack' was a name a left-wing columnist had used to describe him and the others.

"Go," called Robin and the four heroes charged at the villain.

Light raised the weapon that was in his hand. It looked like a laser pistol that you would see in the old sci-fi movies from the 50's.

The four stopped where they were.

"Dude," Beast Boy said moving towards the villain. "Are you really gonna threaten us with your toy phaser from when you were five? Give me a break."

The next step Beast Boy took would be his last before being sent to the front of the store again.

Light's weapon emitted a beam of light and high-intensified energy, which would render a human being unconscious for sometime.

Raven raised her eyebrows.  
Starfire gasped.

"Beast Boy," cried Robin.

"Merely unconscious," stated Light. "Although…I am thinking of adding a 'kill' setting."

Before anyone knew what was happening, all three teens were on the ground in physical pain.

"Too easy," muttered Dr. Light. But he knew that he would go down as the man who had defeated the Brat Pack. He turned his back on them only to hear a voice behind him say,

"Don't even think about it."

Light whirled around and aimed his weapon at the unknown male. Whoever he was, he was big. Light could only see an outline of him but something told the doctor that this must have been an athlete.

"Who are you?" he barked. "Step into the light where I can see you."

The man did.

Light gasped and almost dropped his weapon.

The man-if you could call him that-looked like he was half machine. You could see parts of his dark skin on his arms but the one thing that stood out was that a small portion of his head was covered by electronics. His left eye even was covered by a red ocular implant.

The machine man smiled. "I'm me. And by 'me', I mean the one who's gonna kick your sorry ass back to the Stone Age!"  
Light put his finger on the trigger of his weapon. "You see what happened to them. Do you want to risk the same fate, Mister…?"

"Cyborg," he replied. "Just Cyborg."

"Well, _Cyborg_, prepare to meet thy doom." He aimed his weapon at the teen's head.

Cyborg smiled. "That's a nice gun you have there." There was a sound of metallic clicking. Cyborg raised his right arm, which had now converted into a large cannon that put Dr. Light's weapon to shame. "But this is what I like to play with."

Before Dr. Light could even think about an alternative, a sonic wave hit him and slammed him against the back wall of the store.

Behind him, Cyborg could hear the sound of the teens stirring from the sleep. He walked over to Robin and offered him a hand up.

"Thanks," the Teen Wonder said wearily. He shook his head a few times and then looked at who had helped him up. "Who are you?"

Cyborg smiled. "I'm Cyborg. And I take it you're Robin?"

Robin nodded. "C-can you help me with the others?" He gave a cough and looked at his rescuer.

Cyborg nodded. He moved toward the front of the store where Beast Boy had been knocked. Using his optical implant, he scanned the green teenager and found out that the worst he would probably have was a bad headache. He offered his hand to him and pulled him up.

"Dude," said Beast Boy groggily, "are you The Terminator?"

Cyborg frowned. "I don't know. Did somebody spill Pepto Bismol down your costume?"

Beast Boy grumbled something under his breath as Starfire and Raven regained consciousness.

Police sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Let's go," Robin said. "You coming?" he offered Cyborg.

Cyborg smiled. "Thought you'd never ask."

Dr. Light had been taken to local prison and Cyborg had been brought to the tower.

"So you've been looking for us?" asked Robin.

Cyborg nodded. "Yea. See, everywhere I've gone I get looked at like I'm some kind of freak. So I heard about your adventures and decided to come here."

"With the rest of the freaks?" asked Raven.

"With the rest of the superheroes," corrected Cyborg. "I wanna join this…team of yours."

"Hmm," said Beast Boy. "Why should we?"

Cyborg's nostrils flarred. "Because if you don't, I'll kick your green ass!"

Beast Boy smiled. "Oh, I like him. He's got my vote."

"Plus," added Cyborg. "This team needs a black guy. You've got the white kid, the white alien girl, the _really_ white Goth girl," he said while Raven's eyes shot daggers at him, "and the green annoying kid."

"Hey," cried Beast Boy.

Robin sighed. "What can you offer us?"

Cyborg shrugged. "I dunno. I'm good with electronics, computers and building things. And I think you should take me on right now, cause I've scanned the security this place has and I can only sum it up in one word: Damn!"

Robin looked at Starfire then back at Cyborg. "You're in."

To Be Continued…

Yea I know, you probably figured I'd end it right here. Well I'm not gonna. One more chapter and that' it. I'm gonna give the team their name and you might be surprised as to how they do it. But if you have any guesses, please put them in your review. Sorry if you think this chapter was short and somewhat not good (I know I do) but…writer's block…and Christmas…no it's really my fault.


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